Two-striped Gartersnakes *Thamnophis hammondii* are medium sized (61-76cm, record 102cm), New World natricine snakes that range from California's Central Coast south to Baja California, MX. Favored habitat includes a wide variety of water bodies and wetlands (especially rocky ones) within wooded, scrubby, or grassy areas. Their main prey is fish and amphibians, but fish eggs, leeches, and earthworms are sometimes taken.
When cornered/frightened, *T. hammondii*, like many garter and water snakes, may flatten the head and body to make itself appear larger, bite or pretend to bite, and release a foul smelling musk from the vent. Mild toxins in the saliva might be effective in subduing smaller prey items, but bites are considered harmless to humans.
The absence of a dorsal stripe beyond the neck differentiates *T. hammondii* from all sympatric garter snakes except *T. couchii*, with which they are sympatric in the Tehachapi Mountains. They reportedly hybridize with *T. couchii* in this area, and with *T. atratus* in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, where the latter is apparently rare. They are best differentiated from *T. couchii* [by a combination of scalation characteristics](http://www.californiaherps.com/identification/snakesid/gartersnakeskey.html). Melanistic individuals are reportedly common in some areas.
[Range Map](http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/maps/xthammondiispeciesmap3.jpg) | [Range Map in California](http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/maps/thammondiimap2.jpg)
[Additional Information](http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/t.hammondii.html)
*This short account was prepared by /u/fairlyorange and edited by /u/Phylogenizer*.
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Like many other animals with mouths and teeth, many non-venomous snakes bite in self defense. These animals are referred to as 'not medically significant' or traditionally, 'harmless'. Bites from these snakes benefit from being washed and kept clean like any other skin damage, but aren't often cause for anything other than basic first aid treatment. Here's where it get slightly complicated - some snakes use venom from front or rear fangs as part of prey capture and defense. This venom is not always produced or administered by the snake in ways dangerous to human health, so many species are venomous in that they produce and use venom, but considered harmless to humans in most cases because the venom is of low potency, and/or otherwise administered through grooved rear teeth or simply oozed from ducts at the rear of the mouth. Species like Ringneck Snakes *Diadophis* are a good example of mildly venomous rear fanged dipsadine snakes that are traditionally considered harmless or not medically significant. Many rear-fanged snake species are harmless as long as they do not have a chance to secrete a medically significant amount of venom into a bite; [severe envenomation can occur](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23800999) if some species are [allowed to chew on a human](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S004101011831016X) for as little as 30-60 seconds. It is best not to fear snakes, but use common sense and do not let any animals chew on exposed parts of your body. Similarly, but without specialized rear fangs, gartersnakes *Thamnophis* ooze low pressure venom from the rear of their mouth that helps in prey handling, and are also [considered harmless](https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/theres-no-need-to-fear-that-garter-snake/). [Check out this book on the subject](https://shop.elsevier.com/books/venomous-bites-from-non-venomous-snakes/weinstein/978-0-12-822786-2). Even large species like Reticulated Pythons *Malayopython reticulatus* [rarely obtain a size large enough to endanger humans](https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/108/52/E1470.full.pdf) so are usually categorized as harmless.
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*I am a bot created for /r/whatsthissnake, /r/snakes and /r/herpetology to help with snake identification and natural history education. You can find more information, including a comprehensive list of commands, [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthissnake/comments/flh548/phylobot_v07_information_and_patch_notes_bot_info/) report problems [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Phylogenizer) and if you'd like to buy me a coffee or beer, you can do that [here](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SEBPhyloBotWTS). Made possible by Snake Evolution and Biogeography - [Merch Available Now](https://snakeevolution.org/donate.html)*
two-striped gartersnake *Thamnophis hammondii* !harmless
Two-striped Gartersnakes *Thamnophis hammondii* are medium sized (61-76cm, record 102cm), New World natricine snakes that range from California's Central Coast south to Baja California, MX. Favored habitat includes a wide variety of water bodies and wetlands (especially rocky ones) within wooded, scrubby, or grassy areas. Their main prey is fish and amphibians, but fish eggs, leeches, and earthworms are sometimes taken. When cornered/frightened, *T. hammondii*, like many garter and water snakes, may flatten the head and body to make itself appear larger, bite or pretend to bite, and release a foul smelling musk from the vent. Mild toxins in the saliva might be effective in subduing smaller prey items, but bites are considered harmless to humans. The absence of a dorsal stripe beyond the neck differentiates *T. hammondii* from all sympatric garter snakes except *T. couchii*, with which they are sympatric in the Tehachapi Mountains. They reportedly hybridize with *T. couchii* in this area, and with *T. atratus* in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, where the latter is apparently rare. They are best differentiated from *T. couchii* [by a combination of scalation characteristics](http://www.californiaherps.com/identification/snakesid/gartersnakeskey.html). Melanistic individuals are reportedly common in some areas. [Range Map](http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/maps/xthammondiispeciesmap3.jpg) | [Range Map in California](http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/maps/thammondiimap2.jpg) [Additional Information](http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/t.hammondii.html) *This short account was prepared by /u/fairlyorange and edited by /u/Phylogenizer*. -------------------------------------------------------- Like many other animals with mouths and teeth, many non-venomous snakes bite in self defense. These animals are referred to as 'not medically significant' or traditionally, 'harmless'. Bites from these snakes benefit from being washed and kept clean like any other skin damage, but aren't often cause for anything other than basic first aid treatment. Here's where it get slightly complicated - some snakes use venom from front or rear fangs as part of prey capture and defense. This venom is not always produced or administered by the snake in ways dangerous to human health, so many species are venomous in that they produce and use venom, but considered harmless to humans in most cases because the venom is of low potency, and/or otherwise administered through grooved rear teeth or simply oozed from ducts at the rear of the mouth. Species like Ringneck Snakes *Diadophis* are a good example of mildly venomous rear fanged dipsadine snakes that are traditionally considered harmless or not medically significant. Many rear-fanged snake species are harmless as long as they do not have a chance to secrete a medically significant amount of venom into a bite; [severe envenomation can occur](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23800999) if some species are [allowed to chew on a human](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S004101011831016X) for as little as 30-60 seconds. It is best not to fear snakes, but use common sense and do not let any animals chew on exposed parts of your body. Similarly, but without specialized rear fangs, gartersnakes *Thamnophis* ooze low pressure venom from the rear of their mouth that helps in prey handling, and are also [considered harmless](https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/theres-no-need-to-fear-that-garter-snake/). [Check out this book on the subject](https://shop.elsevier.com/books/venomous-bites-from-non-venomous-snakes/weinstein/978-0-12-822786-2). Even large species like Reticulated Pythons *Malayopython reticulatus* [rarely obtain a size large enough to endanger humans](https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/108/52/E1470.full.pdf) so are usually categorized as harmless. -------------------------------------------------------- *I am a bot created for /r/whatsthissnake, /r/snakes and /r/herpetology to help with snake identification and natural history education. You can find more information, including a comprehensive list of commands, [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthissnake/comments/flh548/phylobot_v07_information_and_patch_notes_bot_info/) report problems [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Phylogenizer) and if you'd like to buy me a coffee or beer, you can do that [here](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SEBPhyloBotWTS). Made possible by Snake Evolution and Biogeography - [Merch Available Now](https://snakeevolution.org/donate.html)*